From Paris, March 1st 2009
As an appetizer for our first stop in Vladivostok, I would like to introduce to you a good friend of mine, whose adventures have taken me throughout the large and wonderful Primore territory, taught me numerous things on fauna and flora of Russian taiga, and who will follow us for the next months: Dersou Ouzala, hunter of the Gold indian tribe and hero of Russian officer Vladimir Arseniev’s roman.
Here is his description made by the author after their first meeting in 1906: « Cet individu était habillé d’une veste et d’une culotte en peau de renne tannée. Coiffé d’une sorte de bandeau, il portait aux pieds des ountes (chaussures sibériennes en peau d’élan ou de chamois tannée et rendue très souple). Une grande besace au dos, il avait en main des fourches (petits supports servant à viser) et une carabine aussi longue que demodée. »
The end of the XIXth century shows the colonization by Russians of their Far East territories including Primore, which is the band of land between China and the Japan Sea. Seduced by the intelligence and tenacity of his officer Arseniev, the governor Unterberger gives him the lead for 3 explorating missions in Sihote Alin mountains between 1906 and 1909. His roman “Dersou Ouzala” tells the stories of those missions especially his growing friendship with the hunter. His work can be considered as a masterpiece for 4 dimensions:
- Military: he is discovering and mapping undiscovered territories that can be important in case of Japanese attack via the sea,
- Ethnographic: he gathers observations of local pickers and hunters,
- Scientific: he studies fauna and flora,
- Artistic: moved by the primitive nature of the taiga, it awakes in him poetic feelings.
If you are interested by Dersou’s stories but are not fan of books, i recommend you the movie made in 1975 by Japanese regisseur Akira Kurosawa.
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